


Not While I’m Around

by starlightwalking



Series: the world as we know it [15]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Confrontations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Misgendering, Protective Maedhros, Trans Fingon, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:09:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28510200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlightwalking/pseuds/starlightwalking
Summary: Maedhros and Fingon run into an acquaintance who nearly ruins their afternoon.
Relationships: Fingon | Findekáno/Maedhros | Maitimo
Series: the world as we know it [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1651942
Comments: 16
Kudos: 43
Collections: Anna's Trans Anthology





	Not While I’m Around

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a discussion on the Red Book discord server about Maedhros destroying transphobes!
> 
> CW for transphobia, malicious misgendering, threat of violence (which does not happen), confrontations, and mentioned racism.

“Oh, yeah,” Tarlanc said, rolling his eyes. “Y’know, my family’s wild too—I mean not weird accidental incest wild, but—”

Maedhros coughed. He was rapidly regretting agreeing to get coffee with Tarlanc, but when you bump into an old acquaintance from work who greets you enthusiastically and you don’t have an excuse to get away, how are you supposed to turn them down? Fingon was amenable, too, but as their casual conversation had somehow turned to the story of how they’d gotten together, both of them had started to become rather uncomfortable. Maedhros remembered Tarlanc was kind of a gossip, and he was not thrilled about the idea of their “wild” relationship getting back to his old coworkers.

“It’s,” Maedhros began, but he didn’t know how to continue. He coughed again. “You know that we’re—still together? Despite all that?”

Tarlanc waved a hand. “Oh, yeah, sure, you do you, no shade!” He raised an eyebrow. “I mean, could be worse, y’know, at least you’re gay, right? Two dudes, no problems there, really.”

Fingon was suddenly very interested in his phone. Maedhros repressed a wince; Tarlanc was not being especially subtle with his implication that there would be a problem if procreation was a possibility—which, well, it was, but there was no way Maedhros was going to let him find _that_ out.

“Anyway, speaking of crazy families, my cousin is like, _convinced_ she’s actually a guy,” Tarlanc scoffed, and if Maedhros thought this conversation couldn’t get any worse, he’d just been proved wrong.

Fingon retreated into his sweater, and Maedhros wrapped an arm around him protectively. But as Tarlanc went on (“All like, ‘pronouns’ and ‘hormones’ and shit, people like that are so _sensitive_ —”), a cold rage filled him that he hadn’t experienced since Caranthir was in middle school and people were picking on him for his birthmark.

Maedhros wasn’t going to make the same mistakes he made that time—principals and teachers were difficult enough to deal with, and now that he was an adult it would be cops, which was even _worse_ —but he was _not_ going to let Tarlanc get away with this.

“If your cousin says he’s a guy, he is,” Maedhros interrupted, pleased to see Tarlanc flinch a little. “ _You_ don’t get to decide that.”

Unfortunately, Tarlanc recovered quickly. “Pfft, don’t tell me _you’re_ like that, too,” he drawled. “I mean, hah, you’re way too tall to be a girl, but—” He laughed meanly. “Oh my god, your ‘boyfriend’ is more likely to be a girlfriend, look how _tiny_ she is—”

Maedhros didn’t quite remember what happened next, just that he was suddenly towering over Tarlanc and glowering down at him, his coffee spilled half on the ground and half on his lap. Tarlanc quivered, and Maedhros clenched his fists.

“What my boyfriend is or isn’t is none of your business,” he growled. “Apologize _right now_ or you will regret it.”

Tarlanc squirmed out of his seat, backing away. “Okay, okay, man,” he stammered, grabbing a napkin to wipe pathetically and ineffectually at the stain at his crotch. “Didn’t mean to trigger you or anything—”

Only the thought of the trouble they’d all be in if he lost control restrained Maedhros from grabbing Tarlanc and throwing him across the room. Instead he spat on the ground in the puddle of coffee, then turned and offered a hand to Fingon. His boyfriend had leapt to his feet and scrambled backward, eyes wide. Maedhros was terrified for a moment that he’d done the wrong thing, that he’d scared Fingon, but Fingon grabbed his hand quickly and squeezed, calming Maedhros’ nerves instantly.

“Let’s go, Finno,” he said, his voice low.

“Hey, wait,” Tarlanc protested, “I didn’t mean—”

Mae snapped his head back around and glared at him. “If I don’t leave right now, I’ll do something we’ll both regret.”

He was gratified to see Tarlanc flinch. “Don’t threaten me,” he whined.

“It was not nice to run into you,” Maedhros said flatly, “and I certainly don’t want to see you again. Get a life, Tarlanc, one that _doesn’t_ involve being an asshole to everyone you meet.”

“But—!” Tarlanc cried out, but Maedhros had already tugged Fingon out the door.

They walked away from the coffee shop in silence for a few minutes, Fingon gripping Maedhros’ hand tightly. Maedhros didn’t mind; he was gripping right back.

They reached a little park in the city, and Fingon sat down on a bench, his shoulders shaking. Maedhros sat next to him, wrapping his arms around him and murmuring things like, “Hey, hey, it’s okay, it’s alright, I love you, I’m sorry, just let it out, okay, Fin?”

“I d-didn’t even do anything,” Fingon cried softly. “You’re the one who—confronted him—and that’s not usually you, I’m the one who should’ve—”

“Shh, shh, no, it’s alright.” Maedhros kissed the top of his head. “Of course you’re upset, that was such a shitty thing for him to say, it was really tense and you were in the middle of it, it makes perfect sense you’re upset...”

“It’s _not_ okay!” Fingon exclaimed, turning to bury his face in Maedhros’ chest. Maedhros held him close, fighting back tears of his own. “Are _you_ alright? You—Mae, you didn’t have to do that, I mean, I’ve heard worse...”

“What?” Maedhros blinked. “Me? No, I’m fine, why would I...” He swallowed. Okay, yeah, he was pretty shaky after getting all up in Tarlanc’s face, but _he_ wasn’t the one who his shitty ex-coworker had been targeting. “Finno, you don’t have to put up with that. Not while I’m around, I won’t stand for it. Unless—” He broke off, suddenly worried. “I’m sorry, did I cause a scene? I didn’t want to like, out you to someone like that, but I...”

“Oh my god I love you,” Fingon sobbed, pulling him into a fierce kiss.

For a moment, Maedhros froze, surprised by this turn, but he soon melted into the kiss, tugging his boyfriend into his lap. Finno’s face was wet with tears, and he was pretty sure he’d shed a few too, but it would be okay. With Fingon here, in his arms, everything would turn out okay in the end.

Finno broke their kiss, holding Maedhros’ face in his palms tenderly. “I love you,” he repeated, barely more than a whisper.

“Wh...what?” Maedhros said. He shook his head a little. “I mean. I love you too, but...”

Fingon kissed him again, short and sweet this time. “I mean, you know I love you, but also...Mae. Maedhros. No one’s _ever_ stood up for me like that before?”

Maedhros stared at him, astonished. But—Finno’s family supported him, surely they...

He must have guessed Mae’s thoughts, because he rushed to qualify, “I mean, Turgon will give people the cold shoulder, and Aredhel can be vicious, and I know my mom threatened to sue a transphobic teacher I had in middle school, but, Mae, this...is the first time someone’s ever been so—direct? and—careful and considerate about it?”

“I...” Maedhros swallowed. “It’s what you deserve,” he said lamely. “And—you make me brave, Finno. I...it’s shitty of him to say anything like that to anyone, but knowing you—no one’s gonna talk bad about you, or _any_ trans person, not if I’m around.”

Fingon looked at him with such wonder and adoration that Maedhros thought he might melt. “But you’re...no offense, Mae, but you’re not exactly a confrontational person? That’s...I’m more that way than you.”

“Well, um...” Maedhros laughed awkwardly, reminded suddenly of just how fast his heart was beating and the sobs he was barely holding in. “I am kind of freaking out a bit right now, but—I wasn’t in the moment, I guess. Because I care more about you than...being polite.”

He took a deep breath, trying to explain. “I want you to be safe,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I can to—protect you. If, if you need protecting. I mean...” He smiled weakly, brushing a stray curl out of Finno’s face. “You protect me all the time, from all the shitty things my brain tells me, and from anyone who looks at me funny. It’s only fair I return the favor.”

Fingon kissed him again, soft and slow. “I love you,” he murmured. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, you know that, right?”

Any residual stress from the confrontation with Tarlanc faded away, replaced only by a fierce, overwhelming affection for Fingon. Perfect Fingon.

“I still sometimes have trouble believing it,” Maedhros admitted, his heart in his throat, “but I know you’re the best thing that ever happened to me, so...I can extrapolate.”

Fingon let out a watery laugh. “I...can’t express how much you mean to me, Mae,” he confessed, and Maedhros hadn’t thought he could love Finno more, but Finno proved him wrong every day in that regard. “What you did for me...that’s...”

He shook his head. “I’ve had good boyfriends before, right? But they’ve never been...” He trailed off, eyes faraway. “If something like this happened, they’d be like, ‘Aw man, sorry about my friend, he’s kind of a dick sometimes,’ or they’d just...laugh along and apologize later. But you just...went out of your way to stand up for me. And people like me. And, it’s not just this, you called out that girl who was being a shit about stereotypes in cinema that one time, and you were with me when I dropped that class because the prof was being racist, and I just. You pick up on things like that? You really care about me? And who I am? And I’ve never...”

He took a deep breath. “There’s no one who’s been like that with me before. Not to this extent.” He squeezed Maedhros’ hand. “So I just want to say...thanks. You are literally the best partner ever.”

Maedhros was floored by that speech. Like...yes, he’d done those things, but only because they were the right thing to do. And it’s not like he was perfect—he could think of a dozen other times hadn’t had the guts to speak out, when he’d done something shitty himself, when he’d failed Fingon and seen how that affected him. He wanted to be better, for Fingon’s sake, and for his own. Fingon deserved the best, and he—well, he was trying to believe he deserved good things too.

But despite all that—despite all the shortcomings he knew he had, despite the lingering feeling in the back of his mind that he was somehow tricking Fingon into loving him—despite everything, for some reason he was smiling stupidly at his boyfriend, his heart thrumming with joy. Finno’s words echoed in his head, _You are literally the best partner ever_ , and he didn’t think that was something he’d forget, ever.

 _Best partner ever._ He was good at this. He was a good partner. He was good for Fingon. And Finno had said things like that before, _You’re an amazing boyfriend, I never want to date anyone else ever again,_ but this was—he didn’t know why, but for some reason this affected him more than ever. (Was it that word, _partner_? Maybe. He didn’t want to think too hard about why that resonated more than _boyfriend_ did, not right now.)

“Say that again?” he asked softly, and yeah, it was silly and self-indulgent, but Fingon’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled.

“Thanks,” he repeated. “For everything.”

Maedhros shook his head bashfully. “...the other bit?”

Fingon tilted his head slightly. “You’re the best partner ever.”

Again, that joy exploded in Maedhros’ chest, and he pulled Fingon in for an exuberant kiss, the awfulness of their encounter with Tarlanc entirely forgotten. “Best partner,” he whispered into Fingon’s mouth. “I like that.”

Fingon let go of his hands to wrap his arms around Maedhros, leaning his head against his chest with contented sigh. “You’ve...grown so much, Mae,” he murmured. “And I love you for that. Thank you. You’re my partner in everything and I adore you.”

“Finno,” Maedhros croaked out, and he really _was_ crying this time. “I love you too. You’re—you’re the best partner, too.”

They stayed like that for a little while longer, just holding each other, until a cool breeze came and blew a dead leaf into Maedhros’ face. They both laughed at that, untangling, and started the walk back to where their beat-up secondhand car was parked. It was time to go home.

“Mae?” Fingon said as they strolled along, a hint of mischief in his voice.

“Hm?” Maedhros asked, twining their fingers together.

Fingon gave him a smoldering look, the kind that always made Mae’s heart skip a beat and his mouth go dry. “You’re pretty hot when you’re intimidating people for me.”

He blushed fiercely, ducking his head. “Um...thanks?”

“No, thank _you_!” Fingon teased, leaning up on his tip-toes to give Maedhros a chaste kiss on the cheek, though his words were anything but. “I know we like to be all lovey dovey in bed, but...”

Maedhros thought he got what Fingon was getting at, and he blushed even deeper—but he did kind of like the idea. “Uh, I guess...if you want me to be like that...?”

“Just as a game, love.” Fingon squeezed his hand. “But I would definitely enjoy it.”

“Okay,” Maedhros said boldly. He hesitated a moment, then added, “As long as you get to be intimidating sometimes, too.”

Fingon smiled wickedly. “Oh, don’t worry. I will be.”

**Author's Note:**

> Tarlanc means "stiffnecked/proud" in Sindarin. I don't think he'll be showing up again, unless I need someone to be an asshole in another fic :P
> 
> Thanks for reading and commenting!  
> You can find me on tumblr [@arofili](http://arofili.tumblr.com/).


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